Recently, the rebels of the Xu family in the Jiangnan area have been exaggerating the defeat of Li Yi and Chang Kuo, insisting that the Ming Dynasty has exhausted its strength, and threaten to attack the capital in the near future, so that the Ming Dynasty will return power to Prince Li.
There are more and more people responding. In addition to the dissatisfied bureaucrats and gentry who were waiting to become emperor after the Ming Dynasty, there are also various forces with selfish motives secretly adding fuel to the flames.
In addition, the Xu family's rebels were forcibly recruited from various places. Within just a few months after the rebellion, they now have more than 100,000 soldiers, and their power is growing rapidly.
People in both the government and the public are uneasy.
At the court that morning, Emperor Shengce discussed with the officials how to quell the rebellion. Some people wanted to impeach Li Yi, thinking that the unfavorable progress of the battle was due to Li Yi's inability to use troops, and the commander should be replaced immediately.
Some people also objected, believing that Yi Shuai was detrimental to the morale of the troops in battle.
Many other officials proposed to gather the efforts of all kings and parties to jointly attack the rebels.
This proposal was also refuted. The princes from all walks of life may not have different intentions. Asking them to send troops may be giving them an opportunity to strengthen their own power by attacking the rebels, and they may be worried about raising tigers.
In the midst of the dispute, Emperor Shengce did not express his position for the time being, until Sun Yuan, the Prime Minister of the Left, came out and said sternly: "Your Majesty's method can only temporarily alleviate the superficial danger——"
He stood in front of the officials and raised his eyes slightly to look at the empress who was sitting on the dragon throne: "I have a way to avoid future troubles, completely calm this war, and make all parties return to their hearts. I just don't know if the saint is willing to do it?"
"As long as the danger of great prosperity can be solved, no matter what method is used, as the king of the country, I should follow your advice."
Changsun Yuan bowed slightly and said in a powerful voice: "Then I was bold enough to ask the saint to return the throne to the Crown Prince Li Zhi!"
Above the Golden Palace, all the sounds suddenly dispersed, leaving only a silent feeling of fear and alert that quickly spread.
Prince Li Zhi looked shocked and looked at the left prime minister in disbelief.
"It should be noted that the name of the Xu family's rebel army is to bring the saint back to power. The reason why they can gather more than 100,000 people is precisely because of this, which fully shows where the hearts of the people in the world are headed!"
Changsun Yuan's voice came to everyone's ears clearly: "If the saint is willing to return to power, the rebel army will naturally lose the hearts of the people, and will no longer have a foothold. If the world returns to its heart, then the Li family will be safe!"
"I have finished my words. I wonder if the saint is willing to retire to the position of the Supreme Emperor for the sake of his people?"
His words were quite polite, and he did not explicitly point out that Ming Hou was the root cause of the disaster. He only used words of remonstrance to force him to abdicate.
Moreover, in Changsun Yuan's view, he was willing to honor the Empress Ming as the Supreme Emperor instead of the Empress Dowager, which would be regarded as giving the other party dignity and was the biggest buffer and compromise.
The officials of the emperor's faction had changed their minds. Some wanted to come forward, but Wei Shuyi blocked them.
On the dragon chair, the empress heard the words and was neither shocked nor angry.
"If this move can save the Li family from disaster, I will have no hesitation and will hold the Zen Ceremony in this hall today——"
The empress raised her hand, took off the emperor's crown, handed it to a chamberlain, and ordered it to be handed over to the prince.
All the officials were shocked. Some courtiers came out and knelt down, horrified and exclaimed: "Your Majesty!"
The Holy Emperor turned his head slightly, looked at the prince, and said in a voice without emotion or anger: "Just because I am concerned about the stability of the great prosperity, I would like to ask the prince if I think I have the ability to govern the country. If so, my heart
You can be at peace."
The chamberlain came to the prince with his head bowed and his crown in his hands.
The hands of the chamberlain were shaking, and the beads on the crown were shaking, but the prince was shaking even more.
Changsun Yuan looked over and said firmly: "Your Highness is thirteen years old, it's time to take up the important responsibility of the Li family!"
Seeing that the prince was still hesitant, with cold sweat rolling down his face, Chang Sun Yuan lifted his robe and knelt down, raised his hand and said: "My Lord, Sun Yuan, please take over the throne and put the overall situation first!"
At this juncture, the time has come, and many officials immediately joined in and knelt down, shouting one after another: "I invite His Highness the Crown Prince to inherit the throne!"
The Holy Emperor, who had removed his crown and had his gray hair bun displayed in front of all the officials, sat still and did not move. He only looked at the prince quietly who was being pushed up by Chang Sun Yuan and others.
The prince plucked up the courage and raised his eyes to look at the dragon's chair on the imperial steps.
However, he had no time to imagine what it would be like when he sat on the dragon chair, and he was overwhelmed by instinctive fear when he looked at each other for a moment.
The prince trembled and knelt down: "My son is still incapable of managing politics, please sage take back these words!"
Changsun Yuan's voice deepened: "Your Highness!"
The prince kowtowed his head and said in a trembling voice: "My lords... I am still young and cannot bear the great responsibility of the country...!"
The thirteen-year-old child was crying with fear in his voice.
Changsun Yuan felt both pain and hatred.
On this occasion, it was the best opportunity to force Ming Hou to abdicate. Even with the advice of his eldest grandson and other ministers, they could not help this cowardly prince!
This is the prince of the country who was "cultivated" by the Ming Dynasty!
The ministers wanted to persuade him again, but the prince had already smashed his forehead and begged and cried: "I beg the saint to take back this order!"
The Holy Emperor sighed softly, and the tense eunuch understood, holding the crown and returning to the imperial steps.
At the signal of the Holy Emperor, the chamberlain gently placed the crown on the dragon table.
She looked at Changsun Yuan and others who were kneeling there: "The prince refuses like this, how can I safely hand over this important task?"
"In this case, I would like to ask Lord Changsun, at this time of turmoil, when you ask me to abdicate in this way, do you have the intention of coercing the ignorant young emperor to disrupt the government?"
The emperor with gray-haired bun raised his sleeves and his tone suddenly became solemn.
Changsun Yuan raised his head: "I am loyal to the Li family and never have any different intentions!"
At this point, his face has been torn, and there is no need to cover up: "It is true that the saint claimed to be the temporary emperor, but he was unwilling to return power to the Li family. It was precisely because of such a retrograde and retrograde move that he caused the current disaster!
We have given our advice based on the facts, and we are worthy of heaven and earth, worthy of the late emperor, and worthy of all the people of the country. I wonder what is wrong!"
"What's wrong with such a good one!" Emperor Shengzhen asked firmly: "With the current disaster, changing the commander before the battle is a very dangerous move, let alone changing the emperor's throne! Now there are not only internal worries, but also foreign enemies and foreign enemies who are eyeing the eldest grandson.
Your Excellency, by ordering me to abdicate the throne at this time, and allow a childish son to ascend the throne, where will the safety of the great prosperity be put? Are you really not wrong or ashamed?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Whether the disaster caused by the Xu family's rebellion is my fault or the result of the internal and external cooperation, Lord Changsun should know better than me!"
Changsun Yuan's expression changed and he was about to speak, but he saw an official step out of the queue and said: "...The Xu family's rebels have threatened to attack the capital in the near future. I think there must be an insider in the court! Please ask the saint to conduct a thorough investigation.
!”
Soon, those who agreed came out one by one.
"Yes, there are many doubts about the robbery of grain and grass. There must be a traitor who leaked the secret of grain and grass transportation to Xu's rebels in advance!"
"Everyone knows that Xu Zhengye's subordinates are Xue Ren, who is the wife and cousin of Changsun. If the other party makes trouble, they will definitely find ways to win over the courtiers. And Changsun is in a high position, how can the other party do nothing? So if Changsun is in trouble, the other party will do nothing.
Your Excellency did not know about Xu's rebellion in advance, I cannot believe it!"
"The rebel Luo Guanlin also had a close relationship with Lord Changsun when he was serving as censor in the court!"
"I ask you to thoroughly investigate whether there is any connection between the Changsun family and the rebel army, so as to purge the court!"
Emperor Shengce immediately ordered Si Gongtai and the imperial army to search the Changsun Mansion, and soon found evidence of secret correspondence.
Many other courtiers claimed that "Chang Sun Yuan had long been rebellious."
"If you want to incriminate someone, why bother?" Changsun Yuan sneered: "People with the surname Ming have repeatedly framed them, how can they be tired of it!"
This statement is a satirical reference to the Ming family's previous attempt to frame the husband of the Chang family.
Therefore, the other party has secretly planned this situation and is only waiting for today.
This situation has probably been laid since Ming Hou decided to deal with Ming Jin.
He first went along with the flow to show that he was ashamed, and it seemed that he was out of luck by destroying his relatives for the sake of justice, but in fact he had already made up his mind to take advantage of the opportunity to eliminate his eldest son in one fell swoop!
Changsun Yuan stood up tremblingly, with a sad and angry look in his eyes: "...I, Changsun, have been loyal to the Li family for more than a hundred years, and I am destined to rise and fall with the Li family! Now I have to watch the country perish at the hands of a woman with a foreign surname!"
The Holy Emperor closed his eyes with a look of unbearable pain: "Come here, take the rebel leader Sun Yuan to the prison to await trial."
Some ministers shouted "No" and tried to stop the imperial army.
Looking at those people who are still using the public to put pressure on her, the Holy Emperor did not hesitate: "Anyone who blocks her will be regarded as a member of the Xu family's rebel army and will be punished together!"
Since she was determined to get rid of the Changsun family, she was ready to break her arm.
There were still some people who refused to retreat, so the Imperial Guard entered the palace with swords and took all the people away.
There were countless angry scoldings and curses. It wasn't until those voices disappeared that the Holy Emperor lowered his eyes and slowly sat back in the dragon chair.
Looking at the hundreds of officials in the palace, one can see that many important positions are vacant.
These officials, headed by Chang Sun Yuan, may hold important positions or be the heads of a large clan, and their interests are closely linked to each other. Killing them would be like pulling out a sore, but also killing oneself.
This is the reason why she has not dared to touch these people.
The vacant important positions need to be filled by qualified people so that the order will not collapse. The dissatisfaction, public anger and resistance caused by this move also need to be quelled one by one...
These are all huge problems, and no matter how you do them, they will leave endless consequences.
But today, the relationship between the Changsun family and her is already in a life-or-death situation. She needs to kill the Changsun family to temporarily quell the chaos between the government and the public, and she also needs to kill the Changsun family to deter the Xu family's rebellious army.
She had no choice but to strike first.
Overnight, everyone in the Changsun clan was imprisoned, and all those involved were dismissed from office and imprisoned.
The empress' move was like a violent storm, and for a while, the court and even the entire capital were enveloped in a bloody storm.
In the early morning, Chang Sui Ning stood on the porch, watching a dead leaf covered with frost falling in the morning light.
The man who escorted the Chang family's food and grass had left the capital for several days. She had not left the capital with him. Naturally, it was not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn't.
Although this matter was approved by the Ministry of Household Affairs, the empress could not have known it. If she was among those escorting the food and grass, the trip would not have been approved.
Even though the empress was busy with court matters, it was impossible for her to watch her and her brother go out of the capital to look for their father with everyone else. This would be too suspicious and eye-catching.
Instead of arousing the suspicion of the Empress, who cannot escape, the best way is of course to let the Chang family's escort of food and grass go further away, and then she can take her brother alone to leave the capital to "seek medical treatment".
This time the transportation of grain and fodder was carried out by Chang Kuo's former subordinates and veterans. Most of those who were supposed to leave had left, and most of the rest were official slaves given to them.
With the people, money and food taken away, it would be much easier for her and her brother to leave again.
"Ning Ning, look!"
Chang Sui'an, who was being supported by the sword boy in the courtyard, suddenly called her and smiled at her: "I can walk half a circle today!"
Chang Sui Ning also smiled and nodded with him.
The medical officer sent by the palace to treat Chang Sui'an's injuries, and the several chamberlains who came to "visit" every day, were all smiling: "...the husband of the Chang family recovered so quickly, I don't think it took more than a hundred days."
You will definitely be able to maintain your muscles and bones so that you can move as usual!"
Chang Sui Ning smiled: "I hope so."
She then suggested to Chang Sui'an: "Brother, since I can walk around now, come with me to Dayun Temple tomorrow to fulfill your wish. Brother, it's not good for me to rush around in a hurry, so let's stay in the temple for a few days."
Chang Sui'an nodded knowingly: "Okay!"
After hearing this, the medical officer explained some matters that needed attention.
When several chamberlains returned to the palace, they reported the matter to Emperor Shengce.
Emperor Shengce then explained: "I went to Dayun Temple to deliver my oral instructions. The husband of the Chang family is injured, so I asked the monks in the temple to take more care of him."
Although there is no abbot in the temple, many monks are her eyes and ears. In addition to taking care of her, she can also pay attention to every move of the Chang family brothers and sisters in the temple.
But because of this, Emperor Shengsi never really felt in his subconscious mind what Chang Sui Ning would choose to do with this trip to fulfill his vow.
When she heard that the Chang family wanted to escort an army of money and food to support them, she thought for a moment that the girl would take this opportunity to leave the capital, but this was not the case.
In this way, she agreed to let the Ministry of Household Affairs approve the matter, and at the same time she also relieved some of her wariness.
Furthermore, the recent political situation has been very busy and urgent, and her mind and sight have been occupied. For example, in addition to liquidating and suppressing the Changsun family, secret reports from the Western Regions have recently come to Beijing, saying that Tibet is expanding more and more, and small border countries may be annexed or surrendered.
Tibet.
Obviously, Tubo's appetite goes beyond this, and it has recently begun to intrude on Tuyuhun, the neighboring country of Dasheng.
It was late at night, and the emperor of the holy book covered the tiredness in his eyes, making people understand Luo.
Mingluo arrived soon.
Since the incident at the Confucius Temple, she has not been able to serve in the Manlu Hall again.
She knew the reasons. One was because she was from the Ming family, and Ming Jin made such a big mistake. At such a critical moment, she always accompanied the Imperial Council, which caused unnecessary criticism.
Now that the eldest grandson family has been imprisoned...is my aunt going to use her again?
Unfortunately, she knew in her heart that the reason why she had not seen the holy face for many days was not only because she was from the Ming family, but also because of the way Chang looked at her in the Confucius Temple when he mentioned the saying that Chang Sui is a bad luck star...
…
What kind of person is my aunt? How could she not have any doubts?
Therefore, compared to being reused, Mingluo prefers that this is the time when the emperor has finally calmed down the chaos in the court and is able to take some time to investigate and deal with her...
Should she deny it even to death, or should she find other excuses and ask the saint for a lighter punishment?
Mingluo imagined many punishments that would fall on her, but never thought that what was waiting for her would be a decree granting a title.
When she bowed and knelt on the ground, she heard the chamberlain read loudly: "... Mingluo, the daughter of Duke Ying's mansion, has been with me in the palace since she was a child. She has been with me for many years and has received my teachings. She is noble, prudent and gentle.
Wei Ze is smart and talented, has the ability to participate in politics, and has the ability to share my worries. I have made you the Princess of Gu'an, given you a gold book, and you will be the queen forever. Thank you!"
Mingluo was stunned.
Instead of punishing her, her aunt actually granted her the title of princess... Why is this?!